Bucharest is a big, crazy, sprawling, intimidating, sometimes beautiful, keep-you-on-your-toes kind of city. It isnโt the kind of city where you immediately say โWow, I love this placeโ but rather, a destination that grows on you with its irrepressible spirit, nice restaurants, amazing coffeehouse scene, and many wonderful attractions. It rewards the intrepid traveler with some pretty wonderful gifts, and the more you explore, the more youโll come to love this Romanian capital that just doesnโt quit.
Youโre probably best off at one of the big international hotels, where gayfriendliness is more assured in this still not-very-open city. I love the Novotel (Calea Victoriei 37. Tel: +40-21-308-8500. www.accorhotels.com), with its perfect location just minutesโ walk from the historic center, amazingly helpful staff, and clean-lined, well-equipped rooms (many with great views out over the city). Itโs a solid four-star choice, and offers a lovely restaurant (more on that later). In short, itโs one of those hotels you feel great coming back to at the end of a long day. Other choices nearby include the Radissonย Blu (Calea Victoriei 63-81. Tel: +40-21-311-9000. www.radissonblu.com), where the high-design approach and accommodating service are what youโd expect from this brand. About five minutesโ walk north of the Novotel, itโs also in a great location. Want to stay right in the historic center? The Hiltonย Garden Inn (Strada Doamnei 12. Tel: +40-21-312-0300. www.hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com) is a good choice, with much more character than you might be used to from its American counterparts.
Now letโs do some walking. Itโs the best way to see the city. (If you need a ride, use a ride-sharing app, or if in a taxi, establish prices per kilometer with your taxi driver at the outset, though even the worst of taxi fares are still super-cheap by American standards.) Practically everywhere you walk, thereโs something interesting to see: a row of statues celebrating Romaniaโs great writers, a huge sundial plunked down into a tiny square, a tall statue of whatโs supposed to be a heart but looks more like a big potato on a stick. The architecture is a fascinating combination of centuries old style and Communist bluster.
Central City Fountain in Bucharest
A prime example of the latter (though an attempt at the former) is the Palace of Parliament, built by infamous dictator Ceauศescu and the second largest administrative building in the world (only the Pentagon is bigger). Set up on a hill, itโs honestly more imposing than beautiful, a must-see just for its sheer size. Youโll also, no doubt, see Bucharestโs own Arch of Triumphย (ลoseaua Kiseleff) as you ride in from the airport. Definitely pay a visit to theย Romanian Athenaeum (Strada Benjamin Franklin 1-3. Tel: +40-21-315-2567. www.fge.org.ro), a gorgeous neoclassical building set in a quiet park. Home of the Bucharest Philharmonic, the interior is stunning, with mosaic floors, pillars, marble stairways, embossed ceilings, and hanging lanterns. Also unmissable is the moving Holocaust Memorial (Strada Anghel Saligny 1), which Iโd walked by a hundred times but never really explored till my friends Lau and Alexandra pointed it out. As you walk around the series of sculptures scattered across a large plaza, the memorial reveals itself slowly. Every time you think youโve seen the entire monument you turn around and thereโs another piece of it thatโs evocative, moving, and disturbing.
It’s good to have friends in the city to show you these things (well, thatโs why you have me), as the most fun discoveries are not necessarily in the guidebooks. My tireless guide, friend, and Bucharest assistant Alex Tincu, a lifelong resident of the city, brings me to these waiting-to-be-discovered places. He leads me to the Valley of the Kings passageway (Pasajul Macca-Vilacrosse), a narrow, arcaded walkway that feels like Istanbul. He points out a statue of Vlad III, the model for Dracula. We look through panels at the ruins of the one-time city below the current streets. We stop in lovelyย Stavropoleos Monastery (Strada Stavropoleos 4. Tel: +40-21-313-4747.ย www.stavropoloes.ro), with its peaceful courtyard full of stone monuments. We walk through the car-free historic center, where the architecture brings you back through the centuries, but the tourist life is hopping with a multitude of restaurants and bars. In the heart of the historic center is Carturestiย Carusel (Strada Lipscani 55. Tel: +40-728-828-922. www.carturesticarusel.ro), possibly the most amazing bookstore in the history of bookstores, with its spiral staircase leading to several galleried floors.
Folk Art in Cismigiu Park
